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Tissue expansion (TE) is a rather widely accepted technique in plastic surgery, with variable indications; among numerous other indications, it is commonly used in scar management. In our research, we focused on the significance of TE as an important armamentarium and valid solution for the treatment of large and old post-burn scars, with good cosmetic and functional outcomes. Our study is a retrospective analysis conducted at Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Jeddah, during the period from 2020 to 2023. This retrospective analysis included 15 tissue expanders, which were inserted in eight patients with large post-burn scars. Each patient underwent two stages of scar repair using variable-size tissue expanders. Post-operative assessment for scar quality and patient satisfaction was conducted using the POSAS score system in addition to standard documentation. Our study sheds light on the satisfactory and accepted cosmetic and functional outcomes for skin tissue expanders for post-burn scars and deformities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Determining the influencing factors of choice of medical specialty is key to a balanced distribution of physicians across specialties. Dermatology, the specialty concerned with treating skin disorders, is known for being among the most wanted; however, studies identifying the factors that attract students to this specialty are lacking. Our study aimed to investigate the influencing factors of the choice of dermatology as a career in clinical-year medical students., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a sample of clinical-year medical students from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between 2020 and 2021. We collected data using an online self-administered questionnaire; we replicated a questionnaire present in prior research. We compared categorical data using the chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.  Results: In total, there were 252 participants, with 30 (11.9%) choosing dermatology as a specialty. Over half showed an average grade of more than 4.5 (66.7%), and 83.3% were female. The significant influencing factors of students' choice of dermatology as a career were: the likelihood of dermatologists influencing patients' lives (p=0.000), opportunities to conduct research in dermatology (P=0.000), how Dermatology allows people to have a satisfying family life (P=0.001), and opportunities for part-time work in dermatology (p=0.000)., Conclusion: Many factors influenced the choice of a future medical specialty in our sample. Focusing on these factors while guiding students to choose their specialty may enable a promising next generation of physicians., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Unit of Biomedical Ethics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital issued approval Reference No. 536-20. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Balkhair et al.)